1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for use in a fireplace or stove, and more particularly, to an apparatus which allows the fuel-loading opening (and any other room air inlet) of the fireplace or stove to be sealed during combustion. The invention relates still more particularly to a fireplace apparatus which utilizes outside air for combustion purposes and also heats outside air and supplies it to the room in which the fireplace or stove is located.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the past, fireplaces and stoves have utilized room air for combustion, resulting in the loss of heated room air to the outside, and increasing the infiltration of cold air which replaces that air lost up the flue. Fireplace inserts and the like have increased the efficiency of fireplaces, often at the expense of the natural beauty of the fireplace and fire, but usually do so merely by cycling room air through the fireplace apparatus and back into the room.
Sealed fireplaces which use outside combustion air to preserve warm room air and decrease cold air infiltration may also employ a heat exchanger to bring fresh, heated outside air into the room where the fireplace is located, thereby creating a positive pressure situation which increases comfort and facilitates a more even temperature distribution throughout the building being heated. Previous embodiments of this type of system have required that the combustion chamber possess at least one exterior wall in order to allow an opening for a source of outside air, or that ductwork be incorporated into the construction of the building to eliminate that requirement. As a consequence, and also due to the wide variety of dimensions and configurations which different solid fuel room heaters present, the conversion of existing combustion chambers into positive pressure furnaces has required difficult custom modifications employing unique solutions and installations in the case of fireplaces, and has been nearly impossible to achieve in the case of freestanding stove type heaters.
Also, prior devices have been deficient in the type of controls provided to regulate combustion in that they presume a level of involvement and knowledge on the part of the user which is rarely existent.